Where Are They Now?

Q: Catch us up. Tell us what you’re doing today:

A: I am currently working as a Recruiter for Development Dimensions International. I attended Butler County Community College for my associate degree in Criminology after high school. I received my bachelor's degree in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh in 2015 and received my master's degree in Higher Education Administration in 2020 from Duquesne University.

Q: Please share with us some information about your family.

A: I live in Washington, PA with my husband and our two dogs, Piper and Mae!

Q: What might (someone) be surprised to know about you?

A: I can juggle.

Q: How did Seneca Valley help you become the person you are today, both personally and professionally?

A: I formed a lot of relationships in high school that have carried into adulthood. I learned many things in the classrooms at Seneca Valley from teachers that really cared about us students and wanted to see us grow.

Q: Who was your favorite teacher/coach/SV staff member?

A: There's a few I have to mention! Mr. Lucot, Mr. Manipole, Coach Roccia and Coach Sample, Mr. Pysher, and Mr. Parenti all had such an impact on me, and I appreciate them to this day.

Q: What is one of your favorite memories from your time at Seneca Valley? We’d encourage you to recall a moment or event that had a particularly strong influence on your life.

A: Earning a WPIAL medal and making it to states in Track and Field is one of my proudest high school moments.

Q: If you had one message for teachers or staff, what would it be?

A: Remember that the things you say to students stick with them for a long time. The impact you have is so important!

Q: What do you wish other people knew about Seneca Valley?

A: That it truly is a great place to learn and grow.

Q: Catch us up. Tell us what you’re doing today:
A: Throughout high school and college, I pursued a life in music by writing songs, playing live shows, and recording in the studio. Eight years ago, I moved from the New York City area (where I was for about three years) to Los Angeles, where I live now. During Covid, I self-produced and released a record called "Disengage" that I am very proud of.  

It is no secret that being a professional artist is a challenging path. Learning, growing and evolving within this industry have been crucial for me. In addition to continuing my singer-songwriting career, I have had several exciting opportunities lately in music production and composing, particularly for the screen. Most recently, I arranged, recorded and produced a piece for Jennifer Love Hewitt that was featured on her ABC show "9-1-1." Jennifer and I have multiple other collaborations lined up in the next year that we are really looking forward to.  

I have also written and produced music for "American Dad," "Family Guy," national commercials, TV themes, podcast themes and numerous films. I am also the music director and lead guitarist for a celebrity cover band called "The Action Figures." We travel and play events nationally, and I have so much fun doing it. 
 
While I continue to enjoy producing other musical artists' and my own projects, I’ve also been honing my skills as a podcast producer. This year I became the spokesman for an excellent music gear retailer called Full Compass. 

Q: Please share with us some information about your family. 
A: I have an incredible fiancée, Lindsay Mushett, who is an extremely talented actress/ producer/ stuntwoman, and she is also an incredible partner. That is invaluable, especially when navigating the seas of the entertainment industry.
 
I was raised by two amazing parents, my mom Cindy and my dad Eric, who could not have been more supportive of my career. They always pushed me to be the best that I could be, and they are truly a blessing. 
 
My sister Erica and her husband Adam have also been loud cheerleaders. They are always in the front row of any show I play in town. Their three beautiful children - Jackson, Addy and Cam - will one day be students at Seneca Valley High School! 
 
I love my family so much, and I’m so proud of them and grateful for how much love I have been given throughout my life. We recently lost my Papa who was the one that lent me his guitar and showed me some chords when I was young. He never missed a show, and we had a very special relationship. I really am the result of so much love that was present and constant in my life—from my immediate family to my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and now a fiancée who I can share these moments with.

Q: What might (someone) be surprised to know about you?
A: While people often assume that I got my degree from the excellent Mary Pappert School of Music, I actually graduated from Duquesne University with a degree in Business Administration for Supply Chain Management, with a focus in Calculus. Though I might not be directly utilizing my degree at a micro level (I’ve never had to plot the heuristics of a trucking route), I handle my career as a business. It’s important to know how to read a contract, build authentic relationships, develop thick skin, etc., to supplement my art, and that mentality has proven valuable. Talent is absolutely the foundation for a career in the arts, but it is just as vital to be dynamic—to keep the art as the focal point and surround it with the tools to build the career. 
 
Anything in entertainment (and so many other fields) relies on some degree of luck, but you can always create opportunities by putting yourself in the best position for your name to be called and making sure that you are entirely prepared when that happens.

Q: How did Seneca Valley help you become the person you are today, both personally and professionally? 
A: I am very fortunate to have gone to Seneca Valley for a multitude of reasons. First and foremost, my best friends to this day are my teammates from Raider Football. We bonded over our shared experience of playing together, and those friendships transcend everything that happens in our professional lives. I became very close with my coaches as well, particularly Jim Lucot and Ron Butschle. Their passion for making us better people was always intertwined with making us better players. Their coaching helped me develop important character traits like personal responsibility, determination and resilience for overcoming obstacles.
 
Similarly, the passion that many of my teachers had for their classrooms ignited my aptitude for learning and set me up to succeed at Duquesne. Rebecca Finch made biology hands-on and fun. My various math classes at SV provided me with a strong foundation for advanced calculus in college (proving especially useful when many other students struggled and had to drop the class). There are too many examples to name, but the enthusiasm of my coaches and teachers probably helped me the most. 

Q: What do you think makes Seneca Valley such a special place to learn and grow?
I appreciated Seneca Valley’s diverse curriculum, and seeing the courses offered now, I am blown away by the educational paths that can be taken. Game Programming, Artificial Intelligence (AI), World and US History in the 1990’s, Psychology, Philosophy, Business Law - there are SO many options. 
 
I appreciate that SV continues to prioritize educational diversity, especially in music and the arts when, nationally, funding for those types of fields is being put on the back burner. I cherished my time in art classes and the teachers’ willingness to support our creativity. I think true growth happens when an individual realizes that (a) the Dunning-Kruger effect is real, and there is always way more to learn, and (b) there are always new ways of thinking that likely weren’t previously considered. There is no better arena for that growth than the arts, where new techniques and original ideas are waiting to be discovered and have yet to be written, performed, painted or sculpted. 
 
What I loved about my time at Seneca Valley is that even teachers in the more traditional subject areas understood the value of creative thinking and problem-solving in their classes. That is the best environment for learning and growth, and I think Seneca Valley is doing an excellent job.

Q: Who was your favorite teacher/coach/SV staff member? 
A: I had so many great teachers at Seneca Valley, and Jim (although I still call him Coach) Lucot’s guidance truly had a lasting impression on me. He was one of my football coaches and history teachers, and he remains a mentor and friend to this day. Coach Lucot is an incredibly engaging teacher, and his commitment to his students and players encouraged me to take my education seriously and succeed throughout high school and college. Thanks to Coach Lucot, I became a better ball player and a much better student, and I developed a love for history that I previously did not have. 

Q: What is one of your favorite memories from your time at Seneca Valley? We’d encourage you to recall a moment or event that had a particularly strong influence on your life.
A: I know I’ve spoken a lot about football, but it really was the center of my coming-of-age growth throughout high school. We spent so much time at the field house in the off-season—lifting, studying film and doing workouts outside. Each season had its own journey of adversity and celebration. When I get together with my best friends, we still laugh incredibly hard sharing those stories and reliving our experiences. As my sister Erica likes to say, they are all core memories.

 
Not football-related, I vividly remember the honor of performing in front of my graduating class at the commencement ceremony. I was asked to sing an original song about the memories that we made called “At the End of the Day,” which is a really vulnerable and intimidating thing to do in front of 600+ peers – some I knew well; most I did not. I’m really glad that I did, though, despite my hesitance due to potential embarrassment. It was a good personal lesson for me – just go for it! Be bold. Do things that might be a little scary. The payoff of overcoming a challenge is always worth it, and over time all those little payoffs stack up to build character. 

Q: If you had one message for teachers or staff, what would it be?
A: My message to teachers and staff is, first, thank you. Your job can be like herding cats, especially in an age where everybody has a smartphone attached to them. I hope you feel the appreciation from your community that you deserve. 
 
I don’t want to make suggestions because I have never been an educator, but gleaning from my own experiences, it was always very helpful for me to be provided with an environment to be creative. In high school, I was at an age where I probably acted "too cool for school" and resisted assignments that I felt were cheesy. As it turns out, those were often the assignments that had a lasting impact and that I still remember. 
 
Projects that required a performance, hands-on approach, and debates that called for us to think of a subject from an opposing perspective flexed my brain in ways that it was not used to and helped me fully understand the subject matter. In subjects like mathematics requiring more objective answers, learning how to apply what I was learning to the world around me was engaging and made me want to learn more about it. I was fortunate that my teachers taught this way to help me get the most out of my education. 
 
And a message to students—
I highly recommend students get involved in anything that creates a community, whether it’s an athletics team, a club or an after-school activity. The experiences you share with your classmates, the relationships that you build and what you learn about yourself will stay with you. Don’t be embarrassed to put yourself out there and be bold.

Q: What do you wish other people knew about Seneca Valley?
A: As I have emphasized in a number of these questions, there are so many different opportunities at Seneca Valley to get involved! You can learn production skills at SVTV, play in the band, sing in the chorus, play a sport and take a class on something you know nothing about. 

Seneca Valley has so much to offer and provides students of varied interests with so many empowering resources. When I was in high school, I thought I might be heading towards law school to eventually become a politician. Fast-forward to now, I am a professional musician and producer with a degree in supply chain management. Needless to say, I am lucky to have been presented with so many avenues for learning, and I am glad that I walked a lot of paths that were less traveled or even uncharted.
 
I hope that current students explore options for their futures, former students are proud to be alumni and future students are excited for this next chapter in their lives! Go Raiders.

Q: Catch us up. Tell us what you’re doing today:

A: I am currently in my third year of a six-year direct medicine program at the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC). This year I am wrapping up my lecture-based coursework on Pathology and Microbiology while also starting to see patients in clinic once a week. Outside of school, I am part of a Bollywood Fusion dance team that competes nationally, and I like to run at the local park. When I complete my six years at UMKC, I will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a Doctor of Medicine (MD) and begin my residency, hopefully in pediatrics! 

Q: Please share with us some information about your family.

A: I have one younger brother who is currently a junior at Seneca Valley and lives with my mom and dad. When my brother isn’t busy with the school musical or academic decathlon, the four of us love to travel, watch movies together and do puzzles!

Q: What might (someone) be surprised to know about you?

A: I have visited and stayed overnight in all 50 states before I turned 20 years old. I enjoy traveling because it helps me get out of my bubble and gain more empathy for others as I become familiar with different cultures, lifestyles and circumstances of the people in the places I travel to.

Q: How did Seneca Valley help you become the person you are today, both personally and professionally?

A: Seneca Valley helped me become the person I am today through the opportunities it offered. One of the key opportunities included the considerable number of clubs available after school. I always felt like there was something for everyone. I developed professionally through Medical Careers Club which helped me better understand the field I wanted to enter. I developed personally through the friendships and relationships I made with my peers and teachers in Academic Games and as a class officer. Another great opportunity available through SV includes trips abroad through language classes or trips to different states through clubs. In ninth grade, the Latin program allowed me to travel to Italy which helped me learn about Italian culture and history.

Q: What do you think makes Seneca Valley such a special place to learn and grow?

A: The people at Seneca Valley are what make it such a special place to learn and grow. The teachers and staff go out of their way to support their students both in the classroom and in extracurriculars. The students you meet in the classroom, sports and clubs also make SV special. Instead of creating a competitive learning environment where it is hard for students to grow and collaborate, the staff at Seneca Valley help students work together so they can learn with others and develop important people skills. 

Q: Who was your favorite teacher/coach/SV staff member?

A: One of my favorite teachers at SV was Mrs. McDermott. She retired recently, but, before that, she was one of the gifted teachers in the intermediate high school. She always encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone through Model United Nation (MUN) and debates among my peers. Another one of my favorite teachers who is currently teaching at SV is Mr. Carson, my 10th-grade chemistry teacher. He went out of his way to be a caring and attentive teacher both inside and outside the classroom, which is not always an easy thing to do. It takes a special kind of teacher to notice students struggling in social settings and step in when necessary.

Q: What is one of your favorite memories from your time at Seneca Valley? We’d encourage you to recall a moment or event that had a particularly strong influence on your life. 

A: One of my favorite memories from my time at Seneca Valley was participating in the Vans Custom Culture Competition through the SV Art Department. I remember the moment we found out we placed in the Top 5 nationally, the excitement of our art team was unmatchable. Mr. Woolslare spearheaded this project and created an opportunity to collaborate with other art students. I also had the opportunity to work on the glass mosaic for the SV Aquatic Center that was built during my time at SV. I appreciated how Seneca Valley cultivated my love for art, as it became applicable later in life when things became stressful. Students need to have de-stressors like art as tools in the real world, even if it is not related to their academic pursuits or career.

Q: If you had one message for teachers or staff, what would it be?

A: My message for teachers and staff would first be thank you for helping me get to where I am in life. The second would be to continue preparing students for university or the real world as best as you can. My U.S. History/Advanced Placement (AP) Government teacher Mr. Lucot used to ask how he could prepare high schoolers better for college, and I think the answer is to give more opportunities to practice problem-solving and test-taking skills. The biggest leap I felt from high school to college was learning how to answer multiple-choice questions and apply the knowledge that I learned. So, I would definitely encourage the staff and teachers to continue emphasizing that portion of their curriculum to prepare their students!

Q: What do you wish other people knew about Seneca Valley?

A: I wish people knew about the large variety of learning opportunities both in coursework and in extracurriculars offered at Seneca Valley. Being at SV can be exciting because your experience is what you make of it and what you choose to engage in. I hope other people take the time to explore the choices available to them and have fun during their time at SV.

Q: Catch us up. Tell us what you’re doing today:
After graduation, I attended Duquesne University (DU). I graduated Summa Cum Laude from DU in May 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sports Information and Media, and a minor in English. I served as the sports editor and editor-in-chief at The Duquesne Duke, the university's student-run newspaper. I spent the summer between my junior and senior years as a media relations intern with the Pittsburgh Pirates under the guidance of fellow Seneca Valley graduate Dan Hart, the team's director of media relations. I then worked as a staff writer intern with the Pittsburgh Penguins. I pursued a second internship with Hart and the Pirates for the first part of the 2023 season, which parlayed itself into a higher-responsibility media relations internship with the Milwaukee Brewers, which began this past August. I moved away from the Pittsburgh area for the first time in my life when I moved to Wisconsin, which was a massive adjustment. In early February, I was offered a full-time position with the Cincinnati Reds as the team's manager of media relations. I started with Cincinnati on February 19, working four days at the stadium office in Cincinnati before flying out to Phoenix, Arizona on February 23, for the team's Spring Training, which will take us to March. All in all, it's been a hectic couple of weeks, months and years, but I wouldn't trade any of it. My job and the life I'm living are the epitome of a dream come true.

Q: Please share with us some information about your family. 
My father, Rob, attended Shaler Area and played football collegiately at Slippery Rock University. My mother Jen attended Butler Area, where she is currently a second grade teacher, and was a cheerleader at the University of Pittsburgh. My brother Brendan (SV '17) graduated from Robert Morris University in 2021 and is currently working as an assistant athletic director at Penn State Shenango. My two sisters Jordan (SV '21) and Rachel (SV '23) are enrolled at Coastal Carolina University (CCU) and Penn State University, respectively. Jordan will graduate from CCU in May, while Rachel is in the spring semester of her freshman year.

Q: What might (someone) be surprised to know about you?
Someone might be surprised to know that I have an incredibly thoughtful, yet humorous, personality. I think that during my time at SV, a lot of people viewed me as a quiet and shy kid who didn't like a lot of people or didn't have many friends. In all reality, I have an incredibly large sense of humor and a massive desire to help others, however and whenever possible. Those who are currently and have been friends with me will attest that, in order to see that true personality of mine, you just have to break me out of my shell and get me out of that comfort zone.

Q: How did Seneca Valley help you become the person you are today, both personally and professionally? 
Seneca Valley enabled my growth at every single turn. An abundance of teachers I met along the way were individuals who cared about my success, both in the classroom and as a citizen in the real world. At times, it was a very rigorous and demanding task to go to school every day. Between enrolling in advanced classes, partaking in extracurricular activities (such as hockey) and having personal things happen outside of school hours, there were certainly some stressful nights. However, I could go to school almost every single day knowing that the teachers I had would look out for me and help me through any struggle. From a friendship perspective, SV has cultivated friendships that will last a lifetime. I've always been a firm believer that it's better to have a few close friends than an abundance of average friends, and I'm very grateful that the small bunch of friends I made during my time at SV are still friends today, even five years after graduating.

Q: What do you think makes Seneca Valley such a special place to learn and grow?
It's all about the people. I've heard all too much about schools, universities and workplaces where people get treated like a number or a means to an end. I'm sure there are schools out there where faculty members show up for the sake of having a job and collecting a paycheck. Seneca Valley is not like that. The faculty are people who care about their students and want them to succeed, both in school and as they graduate and move forward with their lives. I love so many people and faculty who were part of my years there, and I'll always be indebted to them and the district for being part of such a memorable set of years in my early life.

Q: Who was your favorite teacher/coach/SV staff member? 
It sounds incredibly predictable, but there are way too many to name! Mrs. Mihalik is, without question, the sweetest human being I've ever met. She would do anything to put a smile on her students' faces, and there aren't many people with a heart as generous as the one she has. Mr. Lucot is probably the funniest teacher I've ever had. You knew to expect the unexpected when you entered his classroom daily. Mr. Butschle and Mr. Richards were my teachers for various newspaper/journalism-related courses, and they helped me discover my love for that type of writing. I suppose you could say I owe them a lot of credit for where I'm at today. Ms. Christ was the cool and in-style teacher that everyone could connect to, but she was also incredibly genuine. She helped guide me through some personal struggles and dark times, and I was so excited to tell her when those struggles turned into triumphs. She was one of my biggest supporters. Last but not least, Ms. Doyle understood me in a way that no teacher ever could. I'm a complicated person - I've had a lot of battles with anxiety and feeling like I wasn't good enough from an education perspective. Despite that, she was always there to lend a hand and help when times were tough. These are a few of my favorites, but there are, without a doubt, many other teachers who played a vital role in getting me to where I'm at today.

Q: What is one of your favorite memories from your time at Seneca Valley? We’d encourage you to recall a moment or event that had a particularly strong influence on your life.
I'll never forget my last day as a student at Seneca Valley. It was one of those days where it took a minute to process that it was the last time you'd be in the same place as the same 600+ people that you'd seen five days a week for the past number of years. It was a culmination of many years of hard work and building incredible friendships, yet it was one of those bittersweet moments that you sit back and reflect on, even years removed from the day.

Q: If you had one message for teachers or staff, what would it be?
Keep doing exactly what you're doing. In a day in age where education may be more vital than it's ever been, be a beacon of truth and knowledge for the young, impressionable students that pass through your doors each day. I'm a firm believer that trust and respect are earned in any successful relationship or partnership. The best way to have that happen is by humanizing the classroom and making it a place where students WANT to come and learn every day, not a place where they HAVE to come and learn every day.

Q: What do you wish other people knew about Seneca Valley?
I hope that people know Seneca Valley is a place that you can be proud to call your own, both when you're there and once you've moved on.

I've had friendships forged and preserved, thanks to Seneca Valley. I've had teachers that still stay in contact with me, thanks to Seneca Valley. It's a place that's made up of incredible people and a place that I can proudly say is a massive part of the early chapters of my life's story.